


They'll Never Take Us Alive

by CricketsInTune



Category: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Album), My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - Killjoys, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Based on a Dream, Better Living Industries, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, M/M, Mikey Way - Freeform, Original Character(s), Possible Character Death, Ray Toro - Freeform, References to all albums, Similar to Fallout, frank iero - Freeform, gerard way - Freeform, my chemical romance - Freeform, no real plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-23
Updated: 2014-06-27
Packaged: 2018-02-05 21:13:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 8,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1832491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CricketsInTune/pseuds/CricketsInTune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It had been violent between them in the beginning. Starting when Party Poison nearly put a laser between the Kid's eyes. But traveling with the Killjoys had taught him that home isn't just somewhere you lay your head, it could be a person too. And even if Party didn't need love, he might just get it anyway. </p><p>Tales of the Killjoys' travels in the wasteland desert zones outside Battery City.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The World Is Ugly

**Author's Note:**

> I started this story after having a dream about the Killjoys, and it grew from a short little snippet into an ongoing piece of writing. There isn't much plot, I'm not sure what the final destination will be, but it's all based around My Chem songs and has original characters throughout. This is my way of coping with post-breakup sadness. I apologize for any typos and I hope you enjoy!

_For every one of us, there’s an army of them. But you’ll never fight alone. ‘Cause I wanted you to know that the world is ugly, but you’re beautiful to me_.

"You okay?" Party Poison didn't wait for a response before he pressed his lips firmly against the Kid's, saying more from the gesture than he ever could with words. His hand gripped the boy's neck and he instinctively curled into his protector.

"Yeah I'm okay." The Kid smiled slightly as they broke apart, Party Poison rubbing his calloused thumb across the boy's tanned cheek as if confirming what he said. His hand moved to the boy's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"We need to go. The ghouls around here are looking for us." The leader of the Killjoys spoke to everyone then, but he kept his hand on the Kid. He pulled up his bandana as everyone donned their respective head gear. They headed for the shadows of the alleyway as they made their way to Grandpa's to restock and hunker down for the night.

None of the Killjoys, Jet Star included, really spoke about the relationship between Party Poison and the Kid. They had found him wandering the desert with nothing but an old laser pistol and the clothes on his back, half starved to death. Draculoids wanted to catch him too. Something about escaping a facility and surviving a bombing. But the Killjoys never asked much.

Just like Fun Ghoul didn't say much when he found Party Poison and the Kid pressed together against a graffiti covered wall, lips warring with each other like it was the end of the world. But really, it was.

It was sort of violent in the beginning between them. Starting the moment Party Poison found the Kid and nearly put a laser between his eyes. But the kid hadn't been scared. Now he'd seen enough shit that he started to welcome death.

"Come on, take your shot." He pulled open his shirt as if it really was a dare, but Party Poison saw his hands shake and offered him some food instead. He'd been their baggage ever since.

"Do you really have a death wish, Kid?" Party Poison yelled, and he never yelled, as they nearly crawled their way out of the sewers of Battery City. What should have been an easy supply run had turned into a fire fight shit show. The Ghouls had almost overtaken them and Cobra Kid had to be carried out of the sewers. And the Kid had run into danger like it was his goddamn calling. Party Poison felt like a fire burned in his lungs.

"I was trying to help! I'm not some defenseless weakling! I can fight!" He fought right back because he believed it. Believed that he had some shred of invulnerability that protected him from ever dying. And it was that thinking that got you killed.

"You're no help to anyone if you're dead."

"Like it would matter...like anything matters in this fucking hellhole!"

"It matters to me." The words had seemed to calm the storm slightly, but the Kid wasn't one to let things go. Not like this.

"Don't lie to me, Party. I'm just some stupid kid who's lucky he didn't die out there. You said so yourself."

"Don't tell me what I feel."

"Don't tell me what to do." When the Kid said this, face defiant and chin out, Party Poison grabbed hold of his shirt and pulled him closer.

"You're an idiot." He growled out and the Kid grabbed him right back, teeth gritting. Like they shared that same bead of anger.

"I hate you!" He yelled out, both their eyes ablaze but Party Poison didn't answer back. Instead he pushed the Kid hard into the wall, face full of as much anger he could muster, so close they breathed the same breath. It was then his hands came up to grab the Kid's face and it was so fucking tender, so real, that the Kid pressed himself against Party Poison, his lips mashing against the older Killjoys.

It was like the man didn't have to think. He kissed him back with all the emotion he didn't know how to show. With the remorse for his fallen friends, the loss of Grace, the whole silence of the world left to rot. And he kissed him like he would disappear the moment they parted. The Kid didn't care about the press of the concrete on his back, the tearing of his wounds. He wanted to feel all the pain and pleasure he could allow.

When their lips parted, breathless, Party Poison leaned his head against the boys and let the air they took in belong only to them. They stood like that for awhile until the Killjoy finally spoke.

"Don't do that shit to me again."

And that was that.


	2. Planetary (GO!)

_There might be something outside your window, but you just never know. There could be something right past the turnpike gates, but you'll just never know. If my velocity starts to make you sweat, then just don’t let go...You're unbelievable, so unbelievable, you ruin everything, oh, you better go home. I'm unbelievable, yeah, I'm undefeatable, yeah, let’s ruin everything. Blast it to the back row._

"Does this kid even have a name?" Kobra Kid asked as the Killjoys drove into the sunset of another irradiated day. The kid they found was sandwiched between Fun Ghoul and Jet Star and he hadn't spoken much since they'd given him a can of mush to eat and an old leather jacket to keep him warm. Party Poison eyed him in the rear view mirror.

"No," the kid replied bluntly, sounding so much older than he looked because that's what the zones did to you, "Didn't see the point in keeping one."

He was all energy and fight, like live wires in the sand. All limbs and skin. The scars peppered on all parts of him told the story of trying to survive when there was nothing left to fight for. But there was still a spark on those brown eyes. Party Poison had seen it immediately.

That was how he became the 'Kid.' Birth names were for people who still had a life waiting for them. Beds to come home to, a place to feel safe. They'd given up that ghost a long time ago. Even more so when they watched the Draculoids tear Grace away from them. She's been their reason to believe.

"You really think this is a good idea?" The Kid asked Fun Ghoul as they suited up at Grandpas, both tucking laser guns into holsters in their belts.

"Raves are never a good idea. But Party likes to dance and it takes the edge off."

"So it's dangerous." When the Kid said this, Fun Ghoul just gave him a grin as he lit the stub of a cigarette and placed it in his lips.

"Ain't everything?"

The party was at the edge of the Turnpike. It was the barrier to the rest of the world that no one ever crossed the gates of. The abandoned factory had raves all the time unless Better Living Industries shut it down. Zone rejects were used to Draculoids crashing the party. When the Killjoys walked in, no one batted an eye as dozens of old speakers screamed out music Dr. D had recovered from across the zones. The Kid slipped his hand into Party Poison's, wanting to remain close. This wasn't a place to make friends. Not when everyone had a weapon strapped to them. But they all moved like a single entity to the beat of the music.

"I'm getting a drink." Kobra Kid yelled over the music as he headed off into the crowd and Jet-Star followed in silence. Fun Ghoul pulled off his mask and headed for some beckoning girls. Clearly they'd partied with the Killjoy before.

"Use protection, droogs." He said with a nod of his head before leaving the Kid and Party alone.

"You came here to dance, right? So let's dance." The Kid pulled The older Killjoy into the mass of people, letting the other bodies push the two of them up against each other. The Kid didn't know exactly how to do this, how to just let go and relax. Always wound up like a bomb ready to detonate.

But Party Poison knew that. Knew it by the way he fidgeted in the night and woke up screaming. By the way he kissed him frantically because the world could fall apart any minute.

"Relax," Party said against his ear, wrapping his arms around the too thin waist as arms reached around his neck. The Killjoy rolled his hips into the Kid's and he let out a moan. Party hid his smile against the boy's temple, "Don't let go." He muttered, moving faster in time to the music, almost wanting their sweat to mix. Remind them that this was it and they were alive and what else could you hope for?

The Kid clung closer, biting down against the exposed skin of Party's neck. It was like when they were alone and still didn't give a fuck who heard them. But it was more than a physical need, it was the necessity of grounding yourself to something. Or someone.

Dancing was the one place Party could let himself go. That and now whenever he was wrapped up around his charge. The boy with bright eyes and a dead smile. He didn't know what love was, didn't need it, but this, maybe this was close.

The Killjoy pressed closer to the Kid, pressing their bodies until they became the same moving mass. He felt the Kid's breath hot on his neck as one of his hands slid down Party's chest, brushing against the front of his pants.

"You're unbelievable." He muttered against messy brown hair as his fingers went underneath the boy's shirt, wanting to feel the heated sweaty skin.

"I think you mean insatiable."

"You're that too. You're everything."

"Stop talking. Just kiss me, you animal." Party tasted the smile on the Kid's lips as he obliged. Because he knew in that moment he would give this kid anything he ever asked for. And the Kid knew it too.

As the Kid ground his hips against Party's, biting down on his lip as the Killjoy ran his fingernails down the boy's back. Kobra Kid appeared beside them. He was used this this relationship, whatever it was, because even outlaws wanted someone to call their home.

"I don't mean to I interrupt, but Ghouls have been sighted out on the road. We need to get moving." Party was the one to pull away first, always was, because the Kid would stay clung to him forever if he could.

"Later." The Kid leaned in to whisper to Party Poison as a hand grazed his pants before pulling down his goggles.

"Insatiable." The Killjoy muttered but the Kid only grinned as they followed Kobra Kid to where Jet-Star was pulling Fun Ghoul away from his female friends.

"Why does my fun always get fucked up?"

"Perks of the job." Jet said as the Killjoys made their way outside to where dozens other beat up cars were parked.

"I wouldn't mind seeing a little fire fight tonight. Masked bastards have it coming to 'em if they show up here." Fun Ghoul said as he lit another cigarette.

"Don't press your luck." Right as Party Poison said this, a whistle sounded through the air and seconds later, a car to their right exploded in a cloud of radiation and fire. Party had grabbed the Kid and forced him to the ground as pieces of the car fell fiery to the ground. A car full of Draculoids drove on the road towards them, one holding up a missile launcher as they screeched to a stop, lasers already out and ready.

"Fuck." Was all Jet-Star said as the Killjoys got to their feet and drew their guns. The lasers started firing before the ringing left their ears. And the Killjoys knew who the Draculoids really wanted: the Kid. But there was no way in hell they would get him.

"Come on, motherfuckers!" The Kid called out as he started to shoot, recklessness surging in his blood. Party was running after him, one eye on his back and the other trying to focus a shot. But it was when a laser hit the kid right in his heart, causing him to fall hard to his knees, did the leader of the Killjoys let out a furious yell.

Party!" Jet called out, knowing exactly what his brother was about to do. How this was about to end.

"RUN! GET OUT OF HERE!" Party Poison yelled as he went towards where the Kid had fallen face-first into the sand.

Kobra Kid took down another Ghoul but five more were closing in fast and Fun Ghoul was bleeding bad from a knock to his head. They refused to get taken but they refused to leave Party out there dying like the hero he is.

"Save yourselves," He growled out as he shot, knowing his ammo was running low, "I'll hold them back."

"No!" Jet yelled but two more BLI cars were driving up fast and no one had time to argue.

"They're coming, now go!" Party yelled and the other Killjoys knew that was it. Kobra had to wrestle Jet towards the car and Fun Ghoul could barely make it. Party Poison fell to the ground beside the Kid and grabbed the boy's gun, face stoic as he kept shooting. This is what these bastards wanted, they would have to fight for it. Another whistle sounded as some other car exploded, more missiles being fired as the dust and smoke over took everything. He knew the roar of their cars engine and closed his eyes. The others would get away. They would keep fighting. Keep running.

"GET DOWN!" Party heard a voice call out as the sound of lasers firing erupted behind him. He clutched onto the Kid tight, sheltering him as people came out of the factory with their guns hot. Zone rebels like them could surprise you.

The Draculoids were outnumbered and the people of the zones were always hungry for spilling blood. The Killjoy remained protectively gripping the boy under him, refusing to let anymore harm come to him as the fire fight continued. Carefully, Party Poison dared to turn over the body in his arms even though he didn't want to see death on the Kid's face. He was young. He was too fucking young.

"That's right assholes, keep it moving!" Someone yelled out as everyone broke into cheers to the sound of retreat. But the leader of the Killjoys barely heard it. He was pulling the Kid into his arms and trying to forget the scorched wound against his heart.

"You ruin everything..." Party whispered as he ran a hand through the Kid's ragged brown hair. "Do you even know how important you are?"

The Killjoy didn't cry, didn't think he ever could, but he pulled the Kid against his chest and hung on because he was never ready to let go.

"Party?" The feeling of lips against his chest, the muffled voice, made Party's heartbeat spike. The Kid's arms moved up to the man's shoulders and hung on, pulling back to meet his gaze. Party Poison nearly ripped the goggles off his head.

"Don't talk. We need to get you to a doc." The Killjoys frantic hands were stopped when the Kid pulled him closer, faces almost touching.

"I'm okay. I am. Are the Killjoys safe? Are you hurt?"

"You got shot in the chest." Party said and the Kid sighed as he lifted his shirt with one hand, afraid to let the other leave his Killjoy. The wound was already healing.

"I told you, I'm not defenseless," The Kid pulled Party Poison until their foreheads touched, both their eyes closing, "That's why they want me."

It made sense in a lot of ways. The Killjoys found maybe the only person in all the zones who couldn't be killed. And of course, BLI wanted him too. But after everything, as Party breathed in the Kid's exhales, he wouldn't let anyone touch him.

"I told you not to do this shit again."

"I'm a bad listener. It's why you love me."

"Yeah, yeah it is." Party didn't need to say the word back to know it was true. Instead he let his lips kiss what he couldn't say.

Not yet.


	3. Bulletproof Heart

_Gravity don't mean too much to me. I'm who I've got to be, these pigs are after me, after you. Run away, like it was yesterday. And we could run away, if we could run away, run away from here. I got a bulletproof heart, you got a hollow point smile. Me and your runaway scars, got a photograph dream on the getaway mile. Let's blow a hole in this town. And do our talking with a laser blade. Gunnin' out of this place in a bullet's embrace then we'll do it again. How can they say, "Johnny could you come back home?" 'Cause everybody knows you don't ever wanna come back, let me be the one to save you._

The Kid could hot wire anything. If it was mechanical, he could work it, didn't matter what the condition. Which is how he and Party Poison ended up in a busted up old truck with the BLI logo plastered along the sides. His fingers always itched to tinker. Same way they itched to touch the Killjoys skin, feel the gnarly mess that was his dyed bright red hair.

They'd driven in silence awhile before the Kid reached over and knotted his fingers into it, an almost whine coming out of his lips.

"Pull over."

The Killjoy complied because he wanted to put his hands on the Kid too, wanted a reminder that he was still here and not lying lifeless in the sand. He'd barely put the truck in park before the Kid was moving over in his seat to press his lips roughly against any place he could find.

"Not here." Party Poison muttered against the Kid's neck as he tried to get their bodies closer and couldn't. Too much preventing them.

They fucked in the back of the truck because neither wanted to go another mile without the warmth of their skin on skin. It was painful and hurried, a battle of wills put up against each other. Party touched his lips to where the laser had hit because it was his. His. The mark was nearly gone so the Killjoy made a new one.

And when the Kid came, yelling out Party's name with tears in his eyes, the Killjoy pulled him close and just held him there. Because pain and loss and regret tethered them just as much as their longing did.

"We need to get to Grandpas." The Kid finally said after they had pulled on whatever clothes they'd torn off. He wrapped his arms tighter around Party and buried his face in his chest.

"You'll have to let go for that."

"Not a chance." The man smiled into the Kid's hair because he didn't want to move either. You took what you could get when you were at the end of everything.

But they did drive eventually, when the sun starting burning in the sky again. The Kid kept his hand on Party because he seemed to sense that the Killjoy needed it. They kept the radio loud as Dr. Death Defying's voice carried them all the way back to Grandpas. The old man just shook his head as they screeched to a stop and Jet-Star nearly ripped off the drivers side door.

"I can't do that again." Party's younger brother struggled out the words and the two embraced tightly.

"You know I can't promise you that."

There weren't many words exchanged. Fun Ghoul slapped the Kid on the back and told him that he was one lucky little shit but Party didn't let them know why. Some things didn't need an explanation.

Later, as the Kid repaired the busted up carcass of Jet's laser pistol, the quiet Killjoy eyed him like the way a man did before he killed.

"The trigger might stick a little but it's the best I can do with this torn up piece of shit." The Kid handed Jet his gun and still his eyes remained cold.

"It's a good gun."

"Better than some I've seen. Just don't push it to hard, those old chambers are tricky and it might decide to blow in your hand. But something tells me you'll take that risk."

"You talk too much." There was still no smile from Jet-Star and the Kid figured that was the way of things when you got under someone's skin. Both were pieces of Party that he didn't plan to shake.

"Someone needs to," the Kid offered a slight smile but it wasn't returned, "Remember, be easy with that gun."

"The same goes for you." The Kid didn't need an explanation for who Jet meant. It was a warning, but the Kid didn't need it. He had found his home and he wouldn't let that go.


	4. The Only Hope For Me Is You

_Where were you when all of the embers fell? I still remember there. Covered in ash, covered in glass, covered and all my friends, I still think of the bombs they built. If there's a place that I could be, then I'd be another memory. Can I be the only hope for you? Because you're the only hope for me. And if we can't find where we belong, we'll have to make it on our own. Face all the pain and take it on because the only hope for me is you alone._

"Drink up, Kid. That'll put some hair on your chest." Fun Ghoul grinned as he took a swig of whiskey and the Kid did the same, his face twisting up as the old liquor burned down his throat. Grandpas ragged, weasy laugh rang out.

"He needs some so them Ghouls won't feel guilty shooting at a little boy." Grandpa took a long swig of his homemade moonshine. Not even Fun Ghoul touched that.

"I'll have you know I'm at least eighteen. It was you guys who started calling me 'Kid.'" He took another sip and made an audible noise of disgust.

"That's what you get giving us the right to name you. Could've gotten a lot worse," Fun grinned at the older man beside him, "We could be calling you 'Grandpa.'"

"Don't get wise on me, boy." Grandpa said with another weasing laugh that turned into a tobacco-thick cough. The old man had lost a few teeth to chaw but his aim with a shotgun was spotless, that, and his diner was one of the only places the Killjoys were ever welcome.

Grandpa's was a refuge, a port in the radioactive shit storm. He had beds, ammo, and booze which he always had on supply for whatever thirsty zone rejects came his way. The Killjoys paid him in scavenged items, dead Draculoids, and sometimes, just company.

Which is how the drinking usually started. Party never touched the stuff, not after being hooked on chems and booze in years past. But he was out scavenging with Jet-Star and Kobra Kid, leaving the Kid behind to repair a few guns. But he'd learned the taste of dark liquor quick enough.

"You're drunk." Party said bluntly when he returned to the Kid dancing around a radio to Dr. D's music. Bottle in one hand, combat knife in the other.

"And you're too far away," the Kid stumbled and threw his knife onto the sandy dirt as he beckoned the Killjoy closer, "I see only one problem here."

"You know how I feel about alcohol."

"Don't be so grumpy, I just wanted to have some fun. I miss having fun."

"Fun can get you killed." The Killjoy remained serious and the Kid just laughed and spun around in a stumbling circle.

"Not me. I'm inde-fucking-structible," He took another long swig as he stumbled over to Party, smashing the bottle into the sand as his hands gripped the Killjoy's shoulders, "Come on, Party. Loosen up and fuck me, would ya?"

The smell of alcohol on his breath and the words on his tongue seemed to be enough to push the Killjoy too far. He pulled back and let the Kid drop to his knees with a pout on his lips. There was anger in his eyes even when his face remained calm. Or calm as he could make it.

"Hey, not cool, man." The Kid muttered and Party turned to leave but stopped when he heard the Kid speak again, "I don't feel so good..." He barely had time to finish before the alcohol came right back out of him. And Party had already moved over to hold him up. Because he'd been there, and booze was sometimes more an enemy than a friend.

Hours later, shirtless and pressed into the crook of Party's arm, the Kid was curled up and groaning as the morning sun shone through the holes in the curtains. Their room was in the back of an old RV that Grandpa had added to his diner when more rebels were looking for a place to sleep. The other Killjoys agreed that putting Party and the Kid back there would make them harder to hear at night. It didn't work.

"I hate whiskey." The Kid groaned as he threw an arm over his eyes to shield from the light.

"It's a hard lesson to learn."

"How does the old man drink that moonshine like it's water?"

"Years of drowning his troubles in the only way he knows how." At these words, the Kid buried himself closer against Party, sticky with sweat and craving warmth.

"I'm never drinking again."

"You say that now..." He rubbed the Kid's back as he hid his face in the Killjoy's side.

"Is that what it was like for you? Drowning your troubles?" He didn't dare glance up when he asked for fear what he may find in his protector's eyes. They didn't talk much of their past, but it was there and it loomed like all things.

"It was after BLI killed Grace. Jet stopped talking, the Draculoids wouldn't let us rest, and Kobra got hurt bad enough that we needed to stay off the roads. For awhile we didn't have much food, or hope, but we had alcohol. And we started scavenging and selling chems. Not long after that I started taking them, and drinking more, because it made this all seem easier. I nearly got Fun Ghoul killed and that was when Jet gave me a choice. I cleaned up, or I left."

"So you cleaned up."

"No," The Kid looked up at Party when he said it, "I left. Lived on my own for over a month. It was Grandpa who found me about a mile from his diner, face down in mud, high on chems, ready to die. He brought me back here and forced me to detox. He got the other Killjoys to come back too. They wanted me back and I wanted that too. I lost myself...and I'm still finding my way back." The Kid's eyes closed when he felt the touch of fingertips against his cheek.

"I get that, losing yourself. That's how it was for me after the bombing. Everyone I ever cared about burned, except for me. It still felt like part of me burned with them. I was lost out there long enough to stop caring what happened to me. Until some asshole found me." The Kid looked back up at Party with a slight grin and the Killjoy slightly returned it.

"Thought you were going soft on me for a minute there."

"Not a chance."

The Kid felt the press of lips against his hair and knew that they'd be okay. That after all the disasters they'd seen, maybe there was this chance they'd come out of it only bruised, not broken. Which was all they could hope for.

"I still feel like I'm dying." The Kid muttered after awhile, lips speaking against Party's side.

"I'll get you more water." Without waiting for a reply, the older man carefully slid himself away from the Kid, making sure his head was on one of their makeshift pillows before he headed to their purified water supply. But the Kid sat up suddenly despite his pounding head because in that moment he knew that even with the threat of death stripped away, he was loved. And it was more than he had in a long time.

"Hey Party?"

"Yeah?" He stopped before he reached the door of their RV as if knowing what the boy was about to say.

"You said before you didn't have any hope before. Neither did I. But I think I get it now..." The Kid got up and groggily made his way toward his Killjoy.

"You should rest."

"Fuck that," He put his hand on Party's shoulder, "Can I be your hope?"

There was a silence that hung for a moment as their eyes locked, but finally Party bought his hand up to cup the Kid's neck and bring their foreheads together.

"You're the only hope for me."


	5. The Kids From Yesterday

_Well now this could be the last of all the rides we take. So hold on tight and don't look back. We don't care about the message or the rules they make. I'll find you when the sun goes black. And you only live forever in the lights you make. When we were young, we used to say that "you only hear the music when your heart begins to break." Now we are the kids from yesterday._

"Look what I found." Kobra Kid flung a poster onto a table at Grandpas and the Killjoys all peered over it. The drawing wasn't completely accurate, but there was no mistaking who it was. BLI was looking for the Kid and they were promising a hefty reward. Everyone went silent and the Kid tried to be invisible.

"Know what this means, don't you?" Fun Ghoul looked at the other Killjoys, not even bothering to glance at the worried boy to his left.

"I get it. I'm a liability now. I...I can get my shit together by morning. I can..." The Kid couldn't look at them as he sputtered out the words, trying to figure out where the fuck he could go in this ruin of a place. How he could sleep without someone keeping him warm.

But Jet-Star held up a hand to silence him and it was Kobra who filled in the blanks.

"You're not going anywhere."

"So you wanna sell me off like a slave then?"

"You think we'd let those bastards take you after what they did to Grace?" It was Ghoul who spoke up, a solemn look crossing all their faces.

"What?"

"You're one of us, Kid. You're a Killjoy." Kobra said this and Jet nodded slightly.

"It's true." Hearing it from him made it feel real, made it more than just some dream in the dark.

"But I don't have a cool name." The Kid felt tears in his eyes but he choked out a laugh because he realized who he was looking at. It was his family.

"You never needed one." Party's hand came up to squeeze his shoulder.

"Face it, you're one of ours. And we never let them take us alive." Ghoul grinned at the Kid and he returned it before wiping at his eyes with a laugh.

"I probably look ridiculous."

"No you don't." Jet said, and it was sincere because out of them all, the Kid knew he understood. He felt Party's arm come around him.

"You really thought we'd sell you for that shitty price? We're not raiders," Ghoul lit a cigarette and motioned for them all to follow, "C'mon boys, I'm starved."

And the rest of the Killjoys followed.

It was days later that the Kid found himself helping Kobra fix up the car when the slightly quiet Killjoy spoke up.

"Anyone ever tell you how I lost my eye?" The Kid had wondered why the man wore an eyepatch but it wasn't uncommon out here. Kobra seemed the least likely to have lost his eye seeing how he was always the one with the plan. But plans could sometimes fail.

"I figured it wouldn't be polite to ask."

"Because you're the perfect gentlemen..." Kobra smiled slightly as he twisted a wrench and held out his hand for a different tool.

"I'm a prince compared to some of the assholes out here, present company excluded."

"Thanks a lot."

"How'd you lose it?" The Kid said finally, but Kobra kept his eye on the engine.

"We got in a bad fire fight with an Exterminator when he came for Grace. We wouldn't let them take her and I took a laser to protect her."

"They took her anyway though..." He'd pieced the facts together enough to know that they'd gotten the girl along the way despite how the Killjoys fought.

"We nearly died trying to get her back. We would've if it came to it."

"Why tell me this?" Kobra finally looked at the Kid when he asked because he knew that the boy needed the reassurance.

"If I lost my other eye trying to protect you, it might be worth it." Silence hung between them for a moment and the boy nodded, knowing that this was loyalty.

"Let's try and hang on to the one you've got, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan, Kid."


	6. Kill All Your Friends

_'Cause we are all a bunch of animals that never paid attention in school. So tell me all about your problems; I was killing before killing was cool. You're so cool, you're so cool, so cool! You'll never take me alive. You'll never take me alive. Do what it takes to survive, 'cause I'm still here._

"Where are the rest of the Killjoys?" The Kid did his best not to cry out when he felt the cords around his wrist tighten. He refused to show pain, refused to give in to what these sonsofbitches wanted.

"Fuck you." He said defiantly as a fist collided into his jaw, another slamming into his stomach.

"Wrong answer."

The Kid grinned with blood in his teeth even though there was fear lurking in the back of his mind. He had the gnawing feeling that the Killjoys didn't know he was gone, that they wouldn't be able to find him. The Draculoids had grabbed him up during a supply run, cornering him away from the rest of the Killjoys. And now he sat in front of an Exterminator, knowing he was close to becoming a BLI lab experiment. Or worse. He was used to pain, but that wasn't what scared him.

"I won't tell you shit." The Kid spit out some blood as he tried to move his wrists, chaffing and stinging where the cords tore into skin. He had no idea how long he'd been there, but it was long enough for a quiet panic to set in.

"That's most unfortunate," The Exterminator said, glancing back at the two Draculoids guarding the door, "Bring him in."

Before the Kid could even try and fight anymore, the Draculoids brought a semi-conscious Party Poison into the room. They forced him into the chair in front of the Kid and bound him up, the Killjoys eyes opening slightly to look right at the boy. The Kid did his best not to call out his name and the tighter he pulled at his bonds, the more they tore open his skin.

"Are you ready to tell us where the rest of them are now?"

"Where did you find him?"

"Now, do you expect us to answer your questions if you won't answer ours?" The Exterminator smiled wickedly as he put his hands on Party's shoulders. The Kid wanted to rip them off. He figured the Killjoy had come after him and by the looks of him, they sedated him for one purpose: get the Kid to talk.

"If you fucking hurt him..." The Kid tried to threaten but the man only laughed.

"I plan on hurting him quite a lot." With those words, the Exterminator took a knife off the small metal table against one of the walls and buried it under Party's fingernail, ripping it out as the Killjoy shouted in pain, clearly still half out of it. The Kid winced but did his best not to show it.

"I won't tell you shit. I know you won't kill him."

"True. The leader of the Killjoys is more valuable to us alive. But you would be amazed the amount of pain the body can withstand before succumbing," He went to the next finger and sawed off the tip, letting blood run down the arm of the chair as Party let out a pained moan, "And this one is certainly going to be a fighter."

"Please..." The Kid knew that he couldn't last at this, couldn't watch the one thing he cared about get destroyed in front of him.

"Please? Please? Now you beg...maybe you'll give us some answers. Where are the other Killjoys?" Party seemed to force his eyes open then, and the Kid knew what that look meant. It meant never let them take you alive.

"I won't tell you..."

"That's a shame," The Exterminator clicked his tongue as he dragged the knife across Party's forearm, spilling more blood as he did the same to the other arm, "How much blood do you think he can afford to lose?"

"Let him go and I'll tell you anything you want."

"You know that isn't how this works." One of the Draculoids handed him a blowtorch and the Kid's stomach churned.

"Don't!" He tried to fight again and the Exterminator turned on the torch, moving the flame close to Party's bare stomach.

"Are you ready to talk yet?"

"No..."

"Suit yourself." The white-hot flame licked against Party's skin and he squirmed, the flames scorching his flesh as he let out an agonized cry he tried desperately to hide. The Kid felt tears in his eyes.

"I..." The Kid was ready to break his resolve, to end whatever torture would come next. But the look in Party's eyes remained firm. Do not give in, "I won't."

One of the Draculoids went to hand the Exterminator a metal mallet but he held up his hand, instead pressing the fire against Party's side one more time. But the Kid still refused to answer. He couldn't.

"I think that will do for now. Let's allow our friend to reconsider his decision." The Exterminator motioned for the Draculoids to follow him and they all left the room, leaving the Kid and Party alone.

"Party!" The Kid still fought his bonds as he tried to force his chair forward, doing so enough that their feet barely touched. But it was enough.

"You did good."

"But..."

"Are you hurt?" Party struggled out the words and even now, blood dropped out of him, sweat beading from the pain. Yet he wasn't concerned about himself. Never was.

"I'll be fine. But you...I can't let them keep torturing you!" The Kid fought to move closer and had to settle with their feet barely brushing. But it wasn't enough.

"You can and you will. They can't find the others...we need to protect them...need to protect you." A weary smile crossed his lips and he looked like he might pass out from his wounds.

"You're doing a hell of a job, you know that?" The Kid blinked back tears as he looked around to come up with a plan, any plan, to get them the hell out of there.

"You're my responsibility."

"And yet all I've done is fuck up your life since the moment I entered it. I'll get you out of here, Party. If it's the last thing I ever do."

"Won't go without you, Kid." They met eyes then and the Kid knew that he meant it. If it came down to it, they went together or not at all.

"Just hang on, okay? Please."

"For you..." A pained smile crossed the Killjoy's lips as he closed his eyes, "Anything."


	7. Zero Percent

_I'm not the one you will be walking through. And if you kill him for me well, then I'll kill him for you. I'll meet you down at the metro station, cause motherfucker's got my motivation. Now I'm gonna show you how much I love you, my magazine is full of ugly things. Don't need this system we can kill them if we try. Shoot up everything we see. And we'll find it on the wall. I hope you die._

"That's enough." The Exterminator made the Ghoul stop punching Party, whose body had become a host for bruises and wounds. Burns and cuts. The Kid stared at him but something in him checked out. It was the only way he could survive.

Days had passed and the routine didn't change. They knew how to keep Party alive and he was holding on, but the Kid knew that time was running out. And it was time they didn't have.

But they didn't forget about him. He got broken bones as persuasion. They took longer to heal and sure enough he was moving from prisoner to experiment as the days passed. His entire right arm was out of commission after this morning.

The Exterminator cut things short when another Draculoid came in and delivered him a message. Something important enough to make him stop the questioning, "My apologies for leaving so soon. But it seems my efforts aren't effective enough. Maybe when I come back, I'll remove something your Killjoy won't miss."

As he left, the Kid decided that they were getting out. Not tomorrow. Not in two days. Now.

"Hey, my wrist is starting to turn blue. You don't want BLI's experiment to show up with a useless hand, do you? I'm not immune to amputation," The Kid spoke to the one Draculoid who lingered behind, but he didn't seem moved by the boy's words, "Come on, man. Just loosen it a little. You know what shit it waiting for me, could you at least give me this before they ship me away?"

The Kid tried turning his wrist, making his numb hand slick with blood as the sores opened up fresh. The Ghoul seemed to contemplate his words and finally walked over. The minute he loosened the cord, the Kid slipped his hand out, grabbed the back of the Draculoid's head, and slammed it into the metal chair arm. As he started to stir, the Kid swiped the knife from his pocket and cut the cords on his ankles, grabbing the Ghoul with his legs. His neck snapped with a crunch, but he didn't care. This might be their only chance to get out.

"Did you see where we are when they grabbed you?" The Kid didn't waste any time. He hobbled over to Party and cut him free, praying the Killjoy could walk.

"We're somewhere on the outskirts of the city. We can't be far from the inner zones." Party struggled to his feet and the Kid wrapped an arm around him, putting a laser pistol in the hand with less injuries.

"Can you walk?"

"I can make it," The Killjoy growled out the words as he glanced down at the Draculoid, "I have a bad idea."

It didn't take them long to get Party into the Ghoul's clothes. They made their way slowly, armed with the tools that had tortured them for days. But this facility wasn't crawling with guards. Party's wounds started bleeding through his clothes and they got to the sewer grates just in time for his body to give up. They fell into the darkness on top of each other and now it was the Kid who held Party as he tried to forget all his wounds.

"They'll figure out we're gone soon, if they don't know already. I'll carry you if I have to, but we need to move."

"There's a guy on the other side who will help us. I can make it to him." The Killjoy seemed to be reassuring himself more if anything, and so they continued their trek through the underbelly of shit and filth that leaked out into the zones.

"Who is he?"

"A Killjoy. Or his was. He left us a long time ago."

"Why?"

"He was one of the reasons the Exterminators found Grace."


	8. S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W

_Move your body when the sunlight dies. Everybody hide your body from the scarecrow. Everybody hide. He burns my skin. Never mind about the shape I’m in. I’ll keep you safe tonight._

"Party, didn't think you'd be into fucking little kids." The shack was hidden among the rocks and had enough ammo to blow up half the city. The Kid didn't blink an eye with a trigger pointed at him. If anything, it felt familiar.

"I'm not a little kid, asshole. My name is Kid."

"Come on, Rocket. We need somewhere to stay a few nights," It was this same moment that the Kid realized the gun was attached to the man's arm. He had no hand, "You owe me that at least."

"I don't remember owing you shit." He raised the gun in his arm and Party stepped in front of the Kid, nearly falling over.

"Let me at least stitch him up. Then we'll be gone." The Kid was planning on stealing a set of wheels and some of those guns, but he didn't add that in.

"I'd be careful if I was you, Kid," He seemed to contemplate everything for a moment before finally lowering his gun, "Take him inside."

"He's a real gem..." The Kid muttered as he helped Party inside the shack, making him sit down, "Strip."

"If you even think about..."

"I'm not planning on seducing you," There was no humor in the Kid's eyes and it almost killed Party. He imagined how he would have felt if he had watched the boy get tortured. And he knew if that was the case, he wouldn't have left that place without making all of them bleed, "I just want to get home."

"Hey, c'mere," Party reached out and cupped the Kid's neck as his eyes closed, thankful for a comforting touch. But it only reminded him how many fingernails the Killjoy was missing, "You're one tough motherfucker, you know that?"

"I know. Now strip." Party did what he was told, gingerly peeling off the clothes that stuck to where his wounds bled. The Kid felt tears in his eyes but didn't let them fall. Each wound was a reminder of what he let happen, pain that he caused.

"I'm okay," Party said, because he knew the Kid needed to hear it. His fingers that never trembled started to shake as he cleaned out the wounds. The burns were the worst for both of them, "Are you?"

"No, I'm not okay." The Kid laughed darkly and Party couldn't help but feel like he was looking at himself. So he did what this boy would've done. He silenced the worry with his lips. The Killjoy could've cried out when his wounds pulled, but some things were more important than pain.

But the Kid was careful, fighting against him only for a moment before kissing back. Because they had survived, and that was all either of then could ever hope for. Mad Rocket came in seconds later, scowling and silent, giving the Kid some meds with a glare. The boy didn't ask before jamming the needles into Party, injecting him with all the healing power they had.

"Storm's coming." Rocket said as he started heating up some unidentifiable food in cans.

"How do you know?" The Kid asked and the ex-Killjoy just held up his gun arm as an answer. He clearly wasn't much of a talker.

As they ate, the storm never came. But the sunlight seemed to vanish from the sky. Rocket stood up and went to the window, motioning for them to be quiet as he looked out into the wastes. Almost immediately he started grabbing guns and shoving ammo in his pockets.

"What is it?" Party asked and Rocket turned to him, something like fear in his eyes.

"The S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W."

"Who the hell is the scarecrow?" The Kid questioned and Party had already forced himself up as Rocket put a gun in his hands.

"A big fucking problem." The ex-Killjoy said and Party grabbed the Kid's shoulders.

"You need to get out of here. Now."

"Are you kidding me?" The Kid pulled away from him with a look of disbelief, "I told you I'm not leaving without you."

"We don't stand a chance against this thing. I'm going to distract it, and you're going back home."

"Fuck you for even thinking I'd be okay with that."

"We don't have time for this shit," Rocket handed Party a set of keys, "Keep off the main roads. Don't make what I'm about to do mean nothing."

"Rocket..." Party realized what he was about to do. He was about to make up for the mistakes he made years ago despite what it would cost. No one faced the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W and lived.

"You're right, I do owe you." He kicked open his door and went outside as the wind picked up. All methane and dirt. The darkness in the distance loomed closer and they knew exactly what caused it. A thing even the Exterminators feared to release.

Rocket started firing into the mass as it came, the sky almost turning to night. The Kid went to help but Party grabbed him. They couldn't stay here, not if they wanted to live, "What about him?" The Kid asked and Rocket barely smirked.

"I'm gonna blow the place." The hideout had enough explosives to level a small city. And he planned on using them.

"You don't have to die to prove anything." Party said as the wind nearly swallowed his voice.

"Yeah I do. Now go!" Rocket yelled as lasers fired from the stump gun, a missile launcher ready to go at his feet. Party and the Kid were about to reach his truck when the ex-Killjoy called back to them, the darkness ready to swallow the rocky hideout whole, "Hey!" His eyes met the boy's and a real smile crossed his lips, "Give 'em hell, Kid."

And he let the darkness sweep over him as the two got into the car, the boy making the engine roar to life as he floored the gas pedal. As they took off into the desert, driving with the devil on their tail, it seemed like night had swallowed the day. Until a giant explosion sounded behind them, a fire cloud illuminating everything. But they didn't look back, they couldn't. The Kid took Party's hand because he needed a reminder that this was real, that they would live another day. The world had turned to fire and they had made it burn. But Mad Rocket's words echoed on and on.

Give 'em hell, Kid.

And he would.


End file.
